Being a Marvel Comics fan for a majority of my life, reading, viewing & even trying to experience the actions of a super-powered Peter Parker including throwing my right hand forward with my middle & ring fingers pressed against my palm thinking that maybe I too will spew some web-like material from my wrists (kids, right?) will forever be connected to my life. When it comes to video games, very few childhood gaming experiences topped “Spider-Man & Venom: Maximum Carnage” for yours truly even though the game was nothing more than a stereotypical side-scrolling beat-‘em-up that I finished during a weekend rental; yet couldn’t get enough of and even purchased a used copy for memory’s sake many years later. My dedication to “Spider-Man” video games slowly died out with more & more mediocre entries released during the gaming generations that followed the 16-bit era. Almost ten years after playing my last “Spider-Man” video game, I found myself excited with the idea of returning to New York in a world where costumed heroes & villains are the norm not just due to the fact it’s a new “Spider-Man” game, but also because it’s made by Insomniac Games – the developer responsible for the “Infamous” series as well as classics like “Ratchet & Clank”. The hype machine was working hard to make everyone with a Playstation 4 understand they need to own this game, but is it worthy of such a strong recommendation? It’s time to put on the old red & blue tights and see if this is a superhero game truly powered beyond measure.
Did I Complete “Marvel’s Spider-Man”?
With Spider-Man under the control of a player once again, this PS4 exclusive game is as beefy as any open-world game on the market because Spider-Man can pick up many collectibles, stop active crimes and, of course, complete a story isolated to this game featuring the pressures Peter Parker must handle being both a costumed superhero trying to do right by his deceased uncle and attempting to rectify a weakened relationship between himself and his ex Mary Jane Watson without succumbing to homelessness and disappointing his boss/father figure. Between the action sequences are objectives that the player is free to take part in like picking up the hundreds of various collectibles including fan service-filled backpacks and taking photos of various landmarks in this version of New York. My initial plans were to simply finish the story, side missions and pick up some various trophies. But upon discovering the relatively easy, yet time consuming trophy list I took on the challenge including adding personal accomplishments to my playthrough like getting a gold rating on all sixteen Taskmaster Challenges and completing the sub-tasks attached to each enemy stronghold base before finishing the main story for a platinum worthy playthrough that lasted around forty hours after the game started off with a figurative then literal bang.
Did “Marvel’s Spider-Man” Live Up to the Hype?
After months of hype and even a little bit of controversy, “Marvel’s Spider-Man” exclusively for the PS4 has arrived and proves to be one of, if not the best game featuring everyone’s favorite neighborhood spider. As expected, web slinging around this version of New York – which appears to be as close to the real “Big Apple” as possible while adding some buildings and features from the Marvel Cinematic Universe such as the Avengers Tower – is incredibly intuitive from the onset with the right trigger being used to sling and the X button to propel forward. To top off the swinging is wall running, parkour moves that allows Spider-Man to jump over certain obstacles and even upgradable skills specific to moving around the map including pulling off moonsaults & tricks in midair. Though it will take a player a little bit of effort to get the timing down when pulling off swings & jumps, the exhilarating feeling of playing as Spider-Man as he makes his way through New York is almost immediate when given the opportunity to actually play the game; though moving around walls inside buildings or even outside at lower altitudes can prove to be a hassle due to the camera moving in too close or objects like trees & walls not becoming see-through.
Tying into web slinging is the combat. Spider-Man can jump off walls to throw punches, shoot his webbing to toss enemies & even disarm them with upgraded skills, and use a double trigger tap to zip toward safety like an overhead steel beam. But what about when Spidey is going toe-to-toe with his enemies? Improving upon the gameplay initially used in the “Spider-Man 2” game available over a decade ago, the masked marvel can throw a variety of punches & kicks thanks to the player simply hitting and/or holding the square button that fills up a meter under Spider-Man’s health that can both help him pull off finishing sequences & heal himself. Mixing in jumps & web slinging by tapping the X and triangle buttons respectively will have Spider-Man pulling off impressive combos. One of the most important things regarding this game’s combat system is dodging. By pressing the circle button in correlation with Spidey’s Spider Sense going off can create opportunities for counter attacks especially when Spider-Man is leveled up with a fantastic amount of abilities the player can purchase with skill points earned by leveling up Spider-Man thanks to XP given via completed missions, battles & even talking to people on the street looking to get a glimpse of a true superhero. Unlike the “Batman: Arkham” fighting engine this game gets compared to so much, “Spider-Man’s” combat system shows just how vulnerable the protagonist really is as dodging & countering is solely up to the player’s abilities & timing instead of enemy attacks being parried & countered automatically; making the fighting in “Spider-Man” more fulfilling & difficult when taking on copious enemies (expect to die a lot especially in the first few hours when getting used to the fighting). There’s also a stealth system, but it’s usually reserved for certain missions or the early sections of enemy bases (this game’s version of fortresses such as the ones seen in the recent “Far Cry” games). By perching Spidey atop an enemy, the player can web a nearby target without repercussion if no one is around to see it happen; an ability made better by some items Spider-Man gets to help him throughout the game.
There are some very interesting features added to the overall gameplay that makes combat even more entertaining than just the base system. Of course there’s the aforementioned skill tree that features three sections – one focusing on web slinging & web-based attacks (“Webslinging”), melee improvements (“Defender”) & ranged abilities (“Innovator”); though the skills do mix across the three trees sometimes. The skill tree can easily be completed if Spider-Man is fully leveled up to fifty (something attainable with a mixture of campaign, side mission & collectible completion without much hassle). Also obtainable & upgradeable are gadgets Spider-Man can use in both battle & completing mission objectives. Toys like web bombs for quick tying up of enemies and even a Spider Buddy that will assist its creator when called into combat are fantastic ways to mix things up; as are trip mines being great for tying two nearby enemies together and the simple sonic blast that’ll send enemies flying across the screen. By the game’s end, Spider-Man is a walking electronics store able to take down a football team-sized group of enemies without throwing a single punch or kick. One of best features attached to combat is the implementation of suits. With tokens (items gained by completing the varieties of random crimes that occur throughout the city, attaining collectibles, and finishing challenges such as the base missions), the player can purchase upgrades for Spidey’s gadgets and even Spider Suits with each suit having a specific ability that is activated by pressing of both analog sticks simultaneously such as becoming temporarily bullet proof or having Spidey jump & spin while shooting web lines in every direction. Suits can be given up to three modifiers allowing a variety of benefits including better healing & reduced damage from melee attacks. What makes suits even better in this game is the fact that once purchased, the abilities & mods can be applied to any suit; meaning that the player can mix & match their favorite abilities with their favorite suits even in the middle of battle; making suit usage more than just a cosmetic application.
Enemies are typical for a game like this with additions to the ranks when it comes to variations as the game progresses. Starting off with melee-focused street thugs, Spider-Man eventually has to adapt to the different enemies literally gunning for him including brutes that must be fully webbed before Spidey can land an effective attack, and even lassoed prisoners who use their tethers to stop Spider-Man from performing jump attacks. As the game progresses, these enemy types come together and will force the player to be on the top of Spidey’s game if the player wants to be successful.
For all the positives in regards to the gameplay, the story is a mixed bag. Starting off strongly featuring Kingpin and Shocker, the story becomes focused on a mysterious gang simply known as “The Demons”. The narrative mostly focuses on Spidey trying to stop Mr. Negative; leaving some of the more heavily promoted & infamous adversaries for later in the game. Unfortunately the plot’s pacing can leave people somewhat bored especially during the forced stealth missions featuring Mary Jane & Miles Morales after the introductory stealth section involving MJ. Tied to the surprising lack of usage in regards to villains such as Rhino until the final act is the fact a majority of the boss battles are incredibly underwhelming including some two-on-one fights like Spidey vs. Electro & The Vulture that boils down to dodging and throwing projectiles back at his opponents before a quick-time event occurs. Considering the universe & the enemies, the boss battles could’ve been some of the most memorable encounters from any game this generation. Instead, “Spider-Man’s” boss battles are just a lackluster step toward the next well acted & incredibly designed cutscene.
While the boss usage may be disappointing, the voice work & overall presentation is outstanding and easily stands head & shoulders above anything “Spider-Man” related outside of the comics; especially when focusing on the relationships between Peter Parker & Mary Jane and Dr. Octavius (with the latter introducing the game’s main pair of puzzles) and the somewhat outrageous J. Jameson doing his best Alex Jones impression with Spider-Man being the thing that makes his blood boil.
Even some of the minor characters are well crafted and scripted even if they’re on the screen for a short period of time including Kingpin. Beyond the main campaign missions are a handful of side missions that are mostly unimaginative fetch quests or beating up a few people. Sadly, the side missions actually had a lot more potential from a storytelling prospective as seen thanks to one sequence of missions leading up to a boss battle with Tombstone. The Taskmaster Challenges – a series of timed missions focusing on fisticuffs, web slinging & stealth – also provide boss battles, but those are the only ones. Base completion sees Spider-Man fighting wave after wave of enemies and that’s it. Collecting all the backpacks or taking pictures of landmarks are only there for fan service & busy work needed for full completion. Some activities are even locked until later in the game, yet are the same content introduced in the first couple of hours without much to differentiate itself from all the other open-world games on the market right now. Even though the repetition factor is high, thanks to a great traversal system (including hilarious loading screens when fast traveling) and fun combat makes the usually boring bits of an open-world game a lot less tedious.
Technically, “Spider-Man” is very strong; though things can get glitchy graphically without becoming game breaking including stuck enemies & NPCs somehow talking when their lips aren’t moving. With so much to handle from a presentation standpoint, not once did the game crash or freeze.
“Spider-Man” isn’t the perfect superhero game, let alone the perfect open-world action-adventure offering, but it does show just how much potential the franchise has in regards to this entertainment medium under the command of Insomniac Games while delivering a memorable experience for mostly all the right reasons.
Should You Play “Marvel’s Spider-Man”?
In a year of extraordinary video game offerings, “Spider-Man” on the Playstation 4 stands out as a true example of high quality superhero gaming done right. The positives can’t be argued against as the game delivers enthralling combat, near-perfect web slinging & some wonderful acting both visually & from voice acting perspectives. But the game does have some glaring flaws including underwhelming boss fights (a no-no with such a impressive roster of interesting villains such as the ones from the “Spider-Man” universe), repetitive open-world tropes when it comes to mission structure & collectibles, and a somewhat poorly paced story especially when the focus is off the man in the mask. While it’s unfortunate the game isn’t sheer super-powered perfection, “Spider-Man” is a fantastic, must-play experience that will give anyone at least twenty hours of fun without even completing everything including taking pictures of toy cats, catching pigeons, or that meal Peter had in mind for MJ before down stripping in her apartment to go out and fight some more crime.
